Improved child s sled



D. G. HUSSEY Sled.

Patented Nov. 28, i865,

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEO DAVID G.' HUSSEY, OF NANTUUKET,MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPRovED CHILDS sLED.

Spccilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 51, l S8, datedNovember 28, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID G. HUssEY, of Nantucket, in the county ofNantucket and State ot' Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Childrens Sleds; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming partot' thisspecilication, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view ot' my invention in anextended state. Fig.2 is an inverted plan ot' same in a closed orcontracted state. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central vertical sectioncorresponding with Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectionthrough line X ot' Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side view ot' thedevice forlocking the sled in an extended or contracted state. Fig. 6 is adetached side view of a jointed lever, used in actuating` the steeringdevice.

Similar letters ot' reference indicate like parts in the severaltigures.

rlhe lirst part ot my invention relates to extension-sleds, such asconstitute the subjectmatter of the first clause of the claim otl myLetters Patent No. 48, 17S; and it consists in a novel device forlocking the sled in an extended or contracted state.

rEhe second part of my invention consists in a novel construction of thesteering apparatus applicable to all childrens sleds.

The third part of my invention consists in an improvement in the devicefor stopping or checking the speed, applicable to all childrens sleds.

Toenable others skilled in the art. to construct myinvention and applyit to use, I will proceed to describe the construction and operation,having reference to the drawings.

The top ofthe sled represented is constructed, as described in myhereinabove-mentioned Letters Patent, of three parts, A, B, and C, whichare composed, respectively, of a series of parallel bars or slats, a bc, so arranged and disposed that the slats or bars of the parts A and Gwill slide each one-half the distance between the bars of the centralpart, B. The slats ofthe several parts are plain on their edges, and teasily against each other, as shown in Fig. et.

The slats of part A are connected at the front end to the foot-board D,and at the other end by a cross tie or bar, E, underneath.

The slats ot' part (l are connected in a similar manner to thetail-board F at one end, and to a crossetie, G, underneath, at the otherend, having a metal plate, g, secured to the upper surface of the twocentral slats c, on their inner end, said plate resting on the centralslat b ofthe part B.

rlhe slats of the central part, B, of the sled are connected at theirmiddle by a cross-beam, (Z, running the entire width of said part, andmortised into the side pieces, b' b. rlhe ends are connected by twocross-ties, e c, under neath, which run only to the edge of the secondslat from the side, one on each side, the remaindcrotl the distancebeing connected from crossvtie c to side bars, L b', by a rigid metallicstrap, c' e. By this arrangement the top of the sled may be extended toany desired length, somewhat similar to the frame of an extension-table.

Each otl the parts A, B, and C, is supplied, respectively, with a pairof runners, H, El', H2, which may be ot' metal, wood, or metal and wood,whichever may be preferable to the builder thereof. The iirst set ofrunners, H, are movable on a pivot, h', and are used for steering thesled. The back end ofthe frame, h, of said runners is connected, by rodsfi t', to bell-crank levers jj, pivoted to the under side of slats c a,and connected, by a cord, 7c k, to jointed levers Z l', one of which isintended to be placed on each side of the front sled, A, and isconstructed of two parts, Zand Z', the former of which answers as thehandle, and is above the upper part of the sled and pivoted to the lowerpart, Z, at l. The lower part of L the lever is pivoted at 2 to the edgeof theouter slat of part A ofthe sled, and the two parts are preventedfrom moving farther past each other than the position shown in Fig. 6,forming a single lever by vthe part Z, with the small pin 3 comingagainst a corresponding butt or stop on part Z, and the pin 4 on part Zcoming against a stop on part Z. Instead of attaching the cord directlyto these levers, it may pass through the eyes m m in the footboard tothe drivers hands. The dotted lines of Fig. 6 show the upper part of thelever folded down when not required to be useda I 0*', Figs. 1 and 5 isa lock device for securing the movable part of the top of the sled toany desired position, and for holding the parts of the sled closed orcontracted when so desired. The pin or bolt o* is secured to the freeend of a spring, I, the other end of which is irmly secured to thestationary part B of the top ofthe sled. This spring presses the pin dtinto any one of a series of holes, o o, provided in the movable parts Aor C of the top of the sled, which may be opposite to the said pin, whenthe spring I is not held out of the same by a wedge, u, which has alimited movement in an upward and downward direction on a center, a',and when the wedge is at its lowestposition, and anyone of the holes orcavities o opposite the opening1 in the part B, in which the pin slides,the pin will spring ofitself into the cavity o, but when itis desired tomove the part C, either to open or close it, the hand of theperson usingthe sled may be placed on the lower side or base part of the wedge andsufiicient force applied to press it upward, and by the increasingthickness of the wedge between. the spring and the side of the part Bdraws the bolt or pin outward from the cavity o, and allows the movableportion of' the sled to be moved in either direction. This lockingdeviceisin tended to be applied to each end of the central part, B, ofthe sled.

The lever l is intended to be on each side of part A, and may either bemade in one piece or jointed, so as to allow of its being folded downwhen thecord is alone used for steering, as girls may prefer the onemethod and boys the other.

J represents the brake or spur for stopping or checking the movement ot'the sled, composed of two spikes, J* J'lt, each connected to a lever, K,on a shaft, Kt, which runs from one to the other of the runners H, andhas a bearing in each. About the middle of the length of shaft Kt is athird lever, Kttt, connected to a foot-catch, L, sliding in a slot nearthe center of the foot-board, by a wire or rod, Lit. The spurs slidedownwardon each inner side of the runner H through small eyes h2 h2, andwhen they are not in action the spurs are withdrawn by the action of aspring, kit, on one of the levers K. By shoving the footcatch L forwardby the foot, the spurs J it will be drawn down by the rod, wire, orcordLit, and made to penetrate the snow, earth, or ice suf- Iiciently tocheck or retard the forward motion of the sled, or stop it entirely, ifso desired. On relieving the foot-piece L from pressure with the footthe spurs are drawn up by the spring ki free from the surface on whichthe runners may slide.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of runners H H and pivoted frame h with the rods i i,bell-levers jj, constructed and operating substantially as hereindescribed.

2. rlhejointed levers ll', constructed and applied in combination withthe sled and steering apparatus, and operating in the manner and for thepurpose set forth.

3. rEhe combination of sliding` foot-piece L, lever I dit, shaft Ki,levers K K, spurs or spikes J* Jit, and spring kit, the wholeconstructed, arranged, and operating as herein described, and for thepurposes set forth.

4. The latch or lock I 0*, for holding' the sled when extended to anydesired length,op erated by the wedge u, applied and operatingsubstantially as herein described.

DAVID G. HUSSEY.

Witnesses JAMES AUSTIN, CHAs. G. AUSTIN.

